The central exhibition titled « Art + Jewel: Intersecting Spaces » is hosted by the Benaki Museum of Piraeus Str. and has exclusivity
in participation of 48 selected artists of contemporary jewelry from Greece and abroad. Also this year, the important German artist Peter Bauhuis honors the event as a guest and exhibits his work in the central exhibition area.

Duality of Presence, is a curatorial collaboration between American Professors of Jewelry/Metalsmithing Kerianne Quick and Jess Tolbert.
The exhibition brings together contemporary jewelers and metalsmiths working in the United States, who use specific material and form to tell stories about place, histories, and conveyance.

dualityofpresence takes an explicit look at a generation of American contemporary makers united by the urge to connect to things and the world. As we grapple with the legacy of [alternative] material use in art jewelry in the age of globalization – we are united in the urgency our works express to identify with and bring insight to what it means to be in the world now. This exhibition was born from a noticeable shared concern and strategy expressed in the work of curators, colleagues, and other makers in the field. Within the field of contemporary art jewelry many reject or limit the use of precious materials associated with conventional jewelry in favor of non-traditional materials, focusing on a formal expression that may be conceptual in some way, or simply aesthetic. However some contemporary practitioners, including the artists in this exhibition, are mining material – calling upon origins, sourcing, histories, and/or supply chain information to embed value into the materials they select and use. This excavation is a powerful tool for authenticating and enhancing their underlying concepts.

Recognizing this shared methodology as an important movement in American contemporary art jewelry and metalsmithing, Duality of Presence defines and explores those engaged with ‘material specificity’ in their making. We position the term ‘material specificity’ as a way of looking towards how material communicates complex and distinct narratives. Thinking of materials as active agents in the creation of meaning pushes past the notion that they are meaningless conduits and asserts a more substantive role; as conveyors of information, bearers of histories, and assemblers of discourses. Material Specific Artists enter into a deliberate collaboration and cooperative act with materials in the pursuit of meaning.

*

« @dualityofpresence during the Munich Jewellery Week 2017. Some of my experimental pieces that push the boundary of jewelry and clothing are in the show « Jina SEO (EXCHANGE-BIJOU 1)

Alexandra Hopp – tagneck. « I use the traditional jewelry forms, techniques, materials, and visual vocabulary of the goldsmith, in purposeful profusion so the original function is lost, resulting in an exercise in mania. »Alexandra Hopp - Bibliomania necklace

Thea Clark « The layers build with the resonance of color, texture, and material choices, allowing the pieces to pay homage to the natural wonder of the Arctic. »

Kerianne Quick- Transmutations_1. – « This work is based on the human urge to collect, to mark occasions with tangible objects, and an objects ability to connect us to history and memory. »

Kerianne Quick- Transmutations

Wei Lah Poh- White Handle, necklace. - « Handle draws upon enamelware’s visible record of use; it’s degraded and chipped edges, as well as the beautiful patina of rust on steel. »

Wei Lah Poh - White Cup Wounded, bracelet with cup

Kaiya Rainbolt - Mattress#1 (Fear) – How can we respond to issues that are challenging and not succumb to the urge to reject those that are painful to us? »

Kaiya Rainbolt- Confusion

Kaiya Rainbolt‘s Violation #1

Lynn Batchelder, How to Build a House

Demitra Thomloudis Over the Wall’ a series of 90 brooches inspired by the cross boarder view – El Paso to Ciudad Juarez’s Anapra neighborhood. Cement, brass, steel paint, graphite pencil. – « As jewelry, these intimate objects coexist with the body as a means to connect with the landscape from afar. »

Motoko Furuhashi- mesilla_fromt - I « I am fascinated by the natural cycle of growth, decay, and death – and the complexity of the processes that govern life between one place and the next. »

Steven Gordon Holman – Stone Rabbit Neckpiece. – « The Tribe was born out of the West Desert and contemporary hunting culture; its shaman the rabbit and its oracle the magpie. »

Steven Gordon Holman - Black Totem Neckpiece

Nikki Couppee corsageIV. brooch – « With the use of these everyday materials, I am able to exaggerate the size and abundance of gemstones to parody or poke fun at the socio-economic issues of class systems physically made manifest in the wearing of fine jewelry. »

Jessica Anderson – « By presenting refuse in the intimate and personal format of jewelry, I ask the viewer to reflect upon their relationships to objects and things. »

Deposit1 Jessica Anderson

Tova Lund- « This work explores my physical and psychological relationship to landscape and place. »

Tova Lund‘s – Here and There

Sharon Massey – Brickwork – X necklace – « My work is inspired by the post-industrial landscape of Pittsburgh and surrounding areas. Through use of both labor and materials I pay homage to the region’s blue-collar past. »

Duality of Presence defines and explores ‘material specificity’ as a movement in American contemporary art jewellery and metalsmithing where artists aim to reveal hidden narratives through the use of specific materials. The works emphasize the importance of maker-viewer communication, by demonstrating the effectiveness of material centered conveyance, where artists tell stories that connect to the wider world. The works demonstrate a broad range of subject matter, with material specificity as the common thread. In addition to the physical display of objects, the exhibition will include two interactive digital components, a innovative use of virtual reality and an interactive website. Virtual reality headsets integrated into the gallery display will show VR videos produced by selected participating artists using a virtual reality multi-lens camera. Each video will transport the viewer from the gallery to a significant site or moment chosen and filmed by the artist.

CrossPass is a project featuring collaborative and solo works by artists Demitra Thomloudis and Motoko Furuhashi that examines place through expanded media and the intimate lens of jewelry and small objects. The project targets a distinctive stretch of the Interstate 10 corridor connecting the unique borderplex region of El Paso, Texas to Las Cruces, New Mexico. The objective of CrossPass is to allow site-specific locations and the artists’ shared personal inquiries along this route to initiate the collection of images, video and sound which directly influences the creation of jewelry and objects. The viewer is asked to join them in their investigation of this land awash with dramatic terrain, vernacular structures and a multitude of boundaries; and, to uniquely discover these sites through the body.

CrossPass Site #8 Mesa – Students parking their cars at the University of Texas at El Paso have a direct view of the border of different a country: Mexico. Here the divide is physically reinforced with the expansive border highway fence // Crosspass: Demitra Ryan-Thomloudis « Over the Fence » installation of broochesDemitra Thomloudis and Motoko Furuhashi, Site 7, 2016, necklace Brass, powder coat, sand, found materials - Site #7 Mesa
El Paso is a city in constant flux. There you see the constant changing and rotating of businesses

Motoko Furuhashiwas born in 1982 in Tokyo, Japan. While growing up in Tokyo, she received her introduction to art from her grandfather. Her recent works are inspired by her experiences traveling around the world and the road that takes her from one place to another. Motoko received her MFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor at New Mexico State University. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally including at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, the Oakland Museum of California, and Nobana Art Works in Ginza in Tokyo. Publications include 500 Plastic Jewelry design by Lark Books, New Rings: 500+ Designs from Around the World by Nicolas Estrada, and Humor in Craft by Brigitte Martin.

Furuhashi Artist Statement:“I am deeply fascinated with imperfection and the complexity of the natural cycle of growth, decay, and death as the processes that govern life. The overall intent with my work has been to slow the viewer down and make what goes unnoticed important. By highlighting what is viewed as imperfect my work can bring relevance to the object. My belief is that objects only gain importance when the artist draws attention to them. My work is a shift in the meaning of perfection, transforming our perception of reality to new perspectives.”

Thomloudis Artist Statement:
“My jewelry is influenced by the ve­­rnacular architecture and landscapes of site-specific locations. This interest has led me to identify particular aesthetic characteristics and construction techniques that I employ to create works to be worn on the body. As an artist using jewelry and objects as an artistic format for self-expression, my work intends to challenge the construct of the medium as a means to examine value, material sign systems, and extensions of personal and place identity. By relating to the aesthetics of architecture, landscape, and place in this way, I see jewelry having the potential to connect us closer to the world we are surrounded by.”

Demitra Thomloudis and Motoko Furuhashi, Site 5, 2016, Steel, sand, dry grass, acrylic, paint, land segment, silver – Site #5 Anthony
The border town of Texas and New Mexico is Anthony. There Anthony, NM and Anthony, TX sit next to each other.

Demitra Thomloudisand Motoko Furuhashi, Site 2, 2016, Nickel silver, brass, silver, land segment, ink jet print, gesso – -Site #2 Las Cruces (Near NMSU) From land of Native Americans, the Spanish territory of New Mexico has been established over the time. These streets created here continue to develop and allows us access to the land.

Artists:Sofia Björkman, SW — Réka Lörincz, HU — Bruce Metcalf, USA – Gisbert Stach, DE — Demitra Thomloudis, USA – Timothy Veske-McMahon, USA
The curators of The Box posed a unique challenge to a select group of artists. Take 5 readymade materials purchased at the dollar store & give value to something invaluable by creating 3 wearable pieces of jewelry. This challenge feeds into the contemporary jewelry artists’ interest in working with non-precious & alternative materials.
The group includes three American and three European artists. They are Bruce Metcalf, Demi Thomloudis, Timothy Veske-McMahon, Sofia Björkman, Réka Lörinz and Gisbert Stach.Each artist received a box containing five standard size white envelopes, a small white towel, three white erasers, three CDs, and a can of Diet Coke. The materials were chosen because they are all white and echo a metaphorical blank page. These items can also be manipulated in multiple ways.

Réka Lörincz necklace for THE BOX

pendant by Sofia Björkman – part of THE BOX exhibition during SCHMUCK 2016

Unclasped is an exhibition of contemporary jewellery objects, bringing together and examining the practices of twenty-two artists of Greek descent currently working in Greece, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Cyprus and Australia.
The exhibition aims to provide a platform for contemporary thought in order to highlight the work of both established and emerging international Greek artists.
Exploring the connections between the manufacture and the act of wearing jewellery, the works encompass a wide variety of contemporary jewellery making techniques and mediums; expressing the diverse nature of modern jewellery practice within the Hellenic diaspora.

18/04/2015

« Our bodies perpetually occupy the built environment. My work attempts to reverse these roles and interactions by allowing the visual language found within constructed spaces an opportunity to intimately coexist and inhabit the body. I examine and challenge formal architectural organization and its materials in an attempt to redefine and elevate its presence within the construct of jewelry. As artifact my jewelry captures a moment between material, time and place that purposefully interacts with human form. By relating to the aesthetics of architecture in this way I see jewelry having the potential to connect us closer to the world we are surrounded by. » (actually exhibited (and sold) atAlliages)

Demitra Thomloudis – necklace « Reconstruct » serie

Demitra Thomloudis – necklace « Reconstruct » serie – detail

Demitra Thomloudis- REVEALED COLLAPSE serie necklace

« REVEALED COLLAPSE attempts to analyze the point of disjunction associated with its materials, construction, and the composition itself. The necklaces exude the strong presence of actual line, which, when worn, surrounds the body and lies in tension with the softness of the figure. Moments within the line structure are highlighted with color, volume and irregularity, which act as ornament within the necklace itself. With these pieces, I am interested in the body’s physical coexistence with the constructed form and how the interaction with the wearer activates and completes the work. «

Demitra Thomloudis REVEALED COLLAPSE serie necklace

« RECONSTRUCT is a collection of jewelry inspired by the fragmentary aesthetic of informal architectural construction, temporary spaces and bricolage. This work exemplifies a particular act of making, where materials are curated, constructed and remnants from the maker are celebrated. Through the lens of jewelry and changes in scale, weight, and texture, these assemblages ask the viewer to consider new associations to raw construction materials and their intimate relationship to the body as adornment. «

Demitra Thomloudis – Reconstruct brooch

Demitra Thomloudis – brooch – Reconstruct

Demi Thomloudis – Remnants serie of brooches« REMNANTS implements the structural language of the urban built environment. Hand fabricated out of steel, sterling silver and embellished with graphite pencil, my work borrows and deconstructs the organization and materials of constructed spaces. Within these simple forms ornament is described and invented through the simplicity of an edge, a sand paper mark or the junction of the materials themselves. »

Demitra Thomloudis is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at The University of Texas at El Paso. In August 2014 she concluded a 12-month residency at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. Demitra received her MFA from San Diego State University and her BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art. Demitra is a recipient of the Bedichek-Orman Professional Development Grant, a 2015 Nominee for the American Craft Council Emerging Voices Award and is a Society of North American Goldsmiths’ Emerging Artist featured at SOFA Chicago 2014 with representation by Charon Kransen Arts.

Demitra’s work has been included in many exhibitions such as New Traditional Jewellery “Confrontations” Netherlands; 2013 Beijing International Jewelry Art Biennial; Galerie Marzee International Graduate Exhibition, Netherlands; Suspend(ed) in Pink, an international exhibition which traveled to Germany, United Kingdom, Austria, Paris, and the USA; CHAIN project at A CASA, Museum of Brazilian Object in São Paulo, Brazil; and La Fontera which debuted at Museo Franz Mayer, Mexico City and traveled within U.S. courtesy Velvet Da Vinci Gallery. Publications include 500 Plastic and Resin Jewelry and 500 Enameled Objects published by Lark Books, The Art of Jewelry: Plastic & Resin: Techniques, Projects and Inspiration and New Necklaces: 500+ Designs from Around the World, By Nicolas Estrada Barcelona.

Impression : trace left by a person. 40 artists from the world of contemporary jewelery, ceramics and glass to leave their mark at ALLIAGES. They reveal to us their dreams and show us their imaginary world.
Impressions, the permanent exhibition at Alliages, renewed continously.

Inspired by the Houston landscape, Thomloudisand Sellersintimately examine and transform their surroundings through the lens of jewelry, mapping, and drawing. Their work observes moments between materials, time, and place that ultimately interacts with the body as site and collectively produces a snapshot of the sprawling Houston landscape.

One would expect Jewelry artists to be limited to objects of personal adornment, but many contemporary makers in this field have gone beyond the constraints of functionality to pursue conceptual interests in areas such as photography, kinetics and sculpture.This exhibition seeks makers whose work demands exploration both on and off of the body. What happens when a metalsmith goes beyond the boundaries of the wearable? How does the work change when function and jewelry mechanics no longer need to be considered? Can the conversation continue seamlessly from a necklace into an installation or sculpture? The exhibition will feature two works by each artist selected: one piece of jewelry or wearable object and one piece that shifts in scale, medium or material in order to further investigate their ideas.Juror: Susie GanchSusie Ganch is currently Associate Professor and Head of the Metals Program at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. She is also Director of Radical Jewelry Makeover, an international traveling community jewelry mining and recycling project. Exhibition Organizers: Sarah Holden and Kat Cole